By Hammed Shittu in Ilorin
Nigerian Communication Commission Thursday cautioned telecom service providers against embarking on unwholesome practices in order to ensure sustainable growth and further development of the sector.
The Executive Vice Chairman of the NCC, Professor Umar Danbatta, disclosed this during the NCC consumer conversation programme, North Central zone, held in Ilorin, Kwara state capital.
He expressed deep concern over the way and manner telecom service providers had been treating millions of constomers through unwanted services.
Danbatta said the commission would not take it lightly with any service provider that had been indulging in such act so as to protect the rights of its consumers in the Telecom market.
He added that it would further increase and deepen telecom consumers’ awareness about its activities towards ensuring consumer satisfaction.
According to him, the commission has realised the need to protect consumers in order to guarantee quality service delivery.
He said this was the reason the commission had been embarking on series of enlightment and education for telecom consumers so as to guide them against fraudulent attitude of service providers.
Danbatta stressed that, “the awareness being given to telecom consumers now had
gingered them to be alive to their rights and thereby assisting them against being manipulated by the service providers.
“The era of sending unwanted messages by the service providers to the various telephone lines of the telecom consumers has gone”, adding that, “this ugly treatment being meted out to the consumers of various networks would not further be taken by the service providers in the telecom industry”.
Danbatta who was represented at the event by the Head, Zonal Operations of NCC, Helen Obi, explained that, “the commission as an independent national regulatory authority for the communications sector in Nigeria is a consumer -centric agency.
“Today’s event is to demonstrate the importance of the consumer in the telecommunications industry in Nigeria bearing in mind that the role played by the consumer is very important and has contributed tremendously to the growth and development of the telecommunication industry as can be witnessed today in Nigeria”.
“The commission has designed the consumer conversation in line with the 8-point agenda to educate, protect and empower consumers towards making informed choices of use of ICT products and services in order to ensure sustainable growth and further development of the sector.”
While assuring the telecom consumers of adequate protection of their rights, the executive vice chairman however advised them to inform the commission whenever they discover any lackadaisical attitude on the part of the service providers in order to move the sector forward.
